Owen Conned Argentina

11 October 2012 05:06

Former Toon striker Michael Owen admitted he had fallen down to win penalties when he could have stayed on his feet but said he would never dive to win a penalty for any side.

Michael Owen: “It is in our game, it is happening so fast these days that it is virtually impossible to see whether there was contact.

// “I’d say that 75 per cent of players could stay on their feet for a penalty, and if they get touched and go down it is almost, ‘hey got touched so it’s okay to go down’.

“I have been guilty as well, I played at the 1998 World Cup against Argentina and I was running flat out, got a nudge, went down. Could I have stayed up? Yes, probably.

“Then four years later Collina (referee) gave me a penalty again against Argentina. Again, I could have stayed on my feet, the defender’s caught me and I did have a decent gash down my shin from it but I could have stayed up.

“It’s a very difficult subject to talk about especially to people who have not played the game. There is a major skill in trying to outwit an opponent.

“For the actual player, one-against-one, you’re trying to draw people, to commit them, to get into the box because you know as soon as you have got them in the box they are petrified of sticking a leg out or doing anything. It is a skill to get them one-on-one or isolated.

“No one is for blatantly diving, of course they are not, but there is a part of a striker that actually tries to entice the leg to come out to try to win a penalty. It is a skill and it has been done for years and years and I don’t think it will ever leave the game.

“I’m totally against diving, I have never been for it or sought to get a penalty without being touched, but you try to push the boundaries to win a game for your team without cheating.

“Not only do some people think I retired from England, some people think I’ve retired from football, full stop. No, I’d never retire from international football.

“I have to perform well for my club and if I do that there might be an outside chance of getting back. I don’t go to bed thinking of playing for England again. It would be a bonus, but I need to get back on the pitch and rediscover my goal-scoring touch.

“It’s a very intense feeling playing for your country. I don’t think people express themselves as well as they do at club level. At that level you feel loved, the fans are on-side, you’re playing week in week out. There’s certainly a bit of fear playing for England. But football still is, and always will be, my number one passion. I’m still as hungry as I was when I was 18.”